Sholeh Mashhadi

Step 1: Put 2 ¼ lb lamb shank or neck on the bone, 2 onions, 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric and 16 ¾ cups water in a very large pot. Bring to the boil, skim well, cover and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Step 2: Add the drained 5 ½ oz pearled wheat berries, 3 ½ oz dried chickpeas and 3 ½ oz dried red kidney beans and boil hard for 10 minutes (this makes the kidney beans safe), then simmer covered for 1 hour.

Step 3: Lift out the lamb when it falls off the bone. Shred the meat finely and throw away the bones. Add 3 ½ oz short-grain rice, 3 ½ oz green lentils and 2 ⅞ oz mung beans to the pot and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring more often as it thickens, until everything is very soft.

Step 4: Return the meat with 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Beat hard with a wooden spoon or a potato masher for 10 minutes, or blitz part of it with a stick blender, until thick, smooth and stretchy. Add hot water if it gets too stiff to stir.

Step 5: Cook 15 minutes more over a low heat, scraping the base every few minutes so it doesn't catch.

Step 6: Meanwhile, fry 3 onions in 6 tbsp sunflower oil for 20 minutes until deep golden; lift out. Take the pan off the heat and stir 2 tbsp dried mint into the oil for 10 seconds.

Step 7: Ladle into bowls, top with fried onion and mint oil and dust with 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge; reheat until piping hot with a splash of water.